the formal program(mes) are the least effective part of LAC, IMO. what made attending them worthwhile was the chance encounters in hallways, in restaurants, in bars. these sorts of exchanges don't map well to video conferencing.

in fact, i'd probably go as far as to say that video conferencing is massively impeded when it is *not* preceded by in-person encounters by the parties involved. this is true even of IRC to some extent, and the changes i've had to meet various LA people (including you) have been enormous in constructing my sense of an ability to communicate with them all.